Forming tool for ribbon or wire

ABSTRACT

A device for bending metal ribbon or wire material at selected angles with itself at selected intervals along its length. A common operating member provides the selective control over the length of these intervals and the angularity of the bends.

United States Patent T. O. Paine Acting Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration with respect to an invention of;

Ken Anacker, Kirkland, Wash.

Appl. No. 784,544

Filed Dec. 16, 1968 Patented June 15, 1971 Inventors FORMING TOOL FOR RIBBON OR WIRE 9 Claims,6Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl 140/105, 72/307 Int. Cl B2lf 1/00, B21f23/00 Field of Search 140/71, 105; 72/307, 319, 320, 384, 386

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 757,078 4/1904 Wood 72/387 3,493,016 2/1970 Ott 140/71 Primary Examiner- Lowell A. Larson AltorneysG. T. McCoy, John R. Benefiel and Howard J.

Osborn ABSTRACT: A device for bending metal ribbon or wire material at selected angles with itself at selected intervals along its length. A common operating member provides the selective control over the length of these intervals and the angularity of the bends.

PATENTED JUN 1 s I97| 3; 584.860

SHHT 1 [IF 4 INVENTOR, KEN ANACKER AT TOR/V5 Y3 PATENTEU JUN] 519w SHEET 3 OF 4 FIG; 3

INVENTOR. KEN ANACKER BY 9 Lu i Q07 QWZ ATTORNEYS FIG. 5

PATENTED .JUHI 5 I971 SHEET 4 OF 4 FIG. 4

INVENTOR. KEN ANACKER BY Q L g %/2 FORMING TOOL FOR RIBBON R WIRE The invention described herein was made in the performance of work under a NASA contract and is subject to the provisions of Section 305 of the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, Public Law 85568 (72 Stat. 435; 42 USC 2457).

This invention relates to a forming device and more particularly to a device for shaping metal innerconnecting ribbons used in electronic module production.

The prior art method of bending ribbon was entirely one of handwork, using small needlenose pliers and a cut-and-try operation. This method is slow, imprecise, and also damaging to the finish of the ribbon being bent. Prior art devices for the bending of wire have not provided a capability of controllable variation of angularity of bends together with the accurate control of points along the wire in which the bends were formed. Such devices were usually directed to the forming of particular bends or loops at predetermined points along the wire and the necessary flexibility for the above purpose was lacking. v

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a forming tool for ribbon or wire which is capable of shaping a length of ribbon or wire by imposing a series of bends at selected points. A further object is to provide a forming tool which may precisely form bends in wire or ribbon of carefully controlled angularity.

It is yet another object to provide a forming tool with which precise control over the points along the formed wire to which the bends are imposed may be exercised.

It is a further object to provide a forming tool which eliminates handwork in forming metal interconnecting ribbons used in electronic module production.

It is still a further object to provide a forming tool which allows forming operations to be performed without damage to the finish of the'ribbon being bent.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a forming tool which is capable of reproducing a bending pattern imposed on such ribbons with a high degree of accuracy.

Yet another object is to provide a tool for forming complex bending patterns in a much more rapid and expeditious manner.

These and other objects which will become apparent upon the reading of the specification and drawings are accomplished by providing a bending tool having a common operator member which controls both the work advance and the angularity of bends on a ribbon or wire advanced through a feed system and into a bending head.

In the drawings:

FIG. I is a perspective view of a forming tool according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is another perspective view of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective detail of the forming head and drive wheels;

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the drive mechanism of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a section view along the line 5-5 in H6. 4;

FIG. 6 is a section taken along line 6-6 in FIG. 5.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIG. 1, the forming tool is indicated generally at 10 and housing 12 supports a forming mechanism 14 which advances ribbon or wire material from the spool 16 and imposes on it various bends. The angularity of these bends and the points along the wire or ribbon at which the bends are imposed is controlled by control rod l8 which by a drive mechanism to be described causes the fon-ning mechanism 14 to produce both advancement of ribbon from the spool 16 in response to movement of the arm 18 through the quadrant defined by guide slot 20 in guide 2! and in response to rotation of control rod 18 about its own longitudinal axis to produce a bending of the ribbon at a point on the ribbon indicated by the scale on guide 21.

The forming mechanism 14 includes a guide block 22 which receives the ribbon from the spool 16 and from thence the wire is threaded to a pair of drive wheels 24 and 26 and then to a slotted guide member 28. Upon emerging from the slot 30 of the guide member 28 the ribbon passes between bending pins 32 which are mounted in a rotatable bending head 34. Rotation of the bending head will produce a forming of the ribbon proportional to the rotation of the bending head 34, once the pins are brought into contact with the work.

The drive wheels 24 and 26 and the bending head 34 are drivingly connected to the control rod 18 by a system of pulleys best seen in FIG. 4. Control rod 18 is mounted for rotation by use of shaft 36 rotatably mounted in a block 38 at one end and fastened to a plate 35 at the other, which has a hole through which the control rod 18 passes. Fixed to shaft 36 is a pulley 40 which has apair of pulleys 44 and 46 rotatably mounted to the casing 12 and is further looped around a pulley 48 as seen in FIG. 5. Pulley 48 is drivingly connected to drive wheels 24 and 26 by means of gears 50 and 52 connected to shafts 49 and 51 so that rotation of shaft 18 about the axle 36 produces a corresponding rotation of drive wheels 24 and 26 which in turn produces an advance of the ribbon threaded between drive wheels 24 and 26 into guide member 28 and thence between the bending pins 32. The notations inscribed on the guide member 21 are scaled so that movement of the control rod I8 through slot 20 produces a corresponding linear advance of the ribbon to that indicated on the scale.

Driving contact with the wheels 24 and 26 and the ribbon is controlled by pivotally mounting block 54 by means of the pin connections 56 to the casing 12. Block 54 has wheel 26 rotatably mounted thereto by means of shaft 58. In the position shown in FIG. 4, drive wheels 24 and 26 are positioned to engage the ribbon threaded therebetween and is urged into this position by spring 60. However, by means of control arm 62, block 54 may be pivoted so as to move drive wheel 24 away from drive wheel 26 against the influence of spring 60 and retained in this position by means of a detent in slot 64 formed in the housing 12 (FIG. 1), thus allowing movement of operating control rod 18 without producing linear advance of the ribbon through the drive wheels 24 and 26.

Rotation of the bending head 34 in response to the rotation of control rod 18 about its longitudinal axis is also accomplished by a pulley system. Pulley 64 is secured to the end of control rod 18 and has wrapped therearound cable 66 which also passes around another pulley 68 rotatably mounted to the casing 12. Cable 66 then is looped around pulley drum 70 which is seen in FIG. 4 to be secured to the bending head 34 which is in turn rotatably mounted by means of bearings 72.

In order to maintain the surface of the bending head 34 clear except when actually in the process of bending the ribbon, a retraction mechanism is provided. The bending pins 32 are normally positioned flush with the bending head 34 as seen in FIG. 6 by means of actuator pins 74 and '76 which are connected to a respective bending pin 3.2 and disposed in slots formed therein. Springs 78 and 80 bias the pins downwardly so as to bear against a stationary cam plate 82. The pins 74 and 76 rest on the cam plate surface 84 when the bending head 34 is in the zero position. When control rod 18 is rotated about its own axis, it produces a rotation of pulley 70 through the connecting cable and pulley system which, depending on the direction of rotation, immediately causes either pin 74 or 76, and its connected bending pin 32, to be forced upwardly as it climbs the sloping side of the cam plate 82 and is fully extended by the time the bending head 34 has rotated sufficiently to produce engagement of one of the pins 32 with the ribbon as it extends from the slot 30. It should be noted that the spacing of the pins 74 and 76 outwardly from the bending pins 32 produces a more rapid response to bending head rotation.

An indicator wheel 86 is provided and is scribed so as to reflect rotative movement of the bending head in degrees, allowing for the lost motion of the bending pins 32 before actually engaging the ribbon.

In operation, the ribbon is threaded into the guide lock 22, between drive wheels 24 and 26, through guide member 28 and in between bending pins 32. The ribbon is then advanced by a rotative movement of the control rod 18 to the desired point along the ribbon by means of the scale on guide track 20. If the ribbon needs to be advanced beyond the range of the scale on guide track 20, release of the drive pulley by means of control arm 62 is effected and the control rod 18 is returned to the zero position, then the drive pulley is again engaged and the ribbon is further advanced to the desired location. Control rod 18 is then rotated about its longitudinal axis to produce a bend of the desired angularity. This process is continued until the required pattern is imposed on the length of the ribbon which is then cut off by means of shears or a cutting tool which may be attached to the housing 12.

Hence, it can be seen that forming tool has been provided which is capable of producing a complex series of bends of varying angularity and at varying intervals on a length of ribbon or wire without handwork and with the aid of comparatively precise scales. Furthermore, an arrangement has been provided which lends itself to a high degree of repeatability in subsequent fabrications of such patterns. In addition, the retraction mechanism allows any sequence of bends without tool interference or handling of the workpiece. Also, the mechanism is operated by a simplified control arrangement whereby the dual functions are controlled by a single control rod, with movement in one mode controlling advancement of the material and in another mode, controlling the feed, thus providing an easily coordinated procedure.

While a manually operated tool has been disclosed, the device is also readily adaptable to automated equipment, and in addition, the ratios between the pulleys may be varied to produce any desired proportion between the advancement or bending of the ribbon and the movement of the control rod 18.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is:

lclaim:

1. A forming tool for shaping lengths of wire or ribbon material comprising:

a first means for imposing bends on material advanced thereinto;

a second means for advancing lengths of material into said first means;

a first control means providing for selective control over the angularity of bends imposed on said material advanced into said first means by said first means, whereby a pattern of bends at varying intervals and of varying degrees of angularity may be imposed on a length of material;

a second control means providing advancement of a selectively variable length of material to said first means; and

singular control rod means for activating said first and second control means.

2. The tool of claim 1 wherein said first means and said first control means includes a first drive means between said control rod means and said first means which produces a bend corresponding in angularity to movement in one mode of said control rod means; and wherein said second means and said second control means includes a second drive means between said control rod means and said second means which produces an advance of said material by said second means corresponding to movement in another mode of said control rod means, whereby the intervals between bends and their angularity is controlled by said single control rod means.

3. The tool of claim 2 wherein said first means includes a bending head, a pair of bending pins carried by said bending head, and said first drive means includes means causing said bending head to rotate correspondingly in response to movement ofsaid control arm means in said one mode.

4. The tool of claim 3 further including retraction means normally maintaining said pins below the surface of said bending head and causing one of said pins to protrude above the surface in response to rotation in one direction and the other said pms to protrude above said surface 1 response to said rotation in the other direction.

5. The tool of claim 3 wherein said second means includes a pair of drive wheels rotatably mounted and spaced so as to drivingly engage material inserted therebetween, and means guiding said material from said wheels to said bending head, so as to direct said material between said bending pins, and wherein said drive means includes means causing at least one of said wheels to rotate correspondingly in response to movement of said control rod means in said other mode.

6. The tool of claim 4 wherein said retraction means includes a fixed cam plate juxtaposed to said bending head, and having a surface sloping with respect to said bending head, and also includes actuator pins carried by said bending head and engaging said sloping surface and means connecting said bending pins to a respective actuator pin, whereby rotation of said bending head causes movement of said bending pins in response to the camming action of said actuator pins and said sloping surface.

7. The forming tool of claims 2, 3 or 5 wherein one of said drive means includes a first rotative drive member fixed to said control rod means and the other of said drive means includes a second rotative drive member and means drivingly connecting said second member to said control rod means so as to produce rotation of said second member in response to rotation of said control rod-means about one axis while allowing movement of said control rod means about the axis of the first rotative drive member.

8. The tool of claims 3 and 5 further including means to selectively disengage the material and said second means whereby responsive advancement of the material by movement of said control rod means may be suspended.

9. The tool of claims 2, 3, or 5 further including scale means providing an indication of the length of advance of said material by said second means and the angularity of the bend imposed on said material by said first means. 

1. A forming tool for shaping lengths of wire or ribbon material comprising: a first means for imposing bends on material advanced thereinto; a second means for advancing lengths of material into said first means; a first control means providing for selective control over the angularity of bends imposed on said material advanced into said first means by said first means, whereby a pattern of bends at varying intervals and of varying degrees of angularity may be imposed on a length of material; a second control means providing advancement of a selectively variable length of material to said first means; and singular control rod means for activating said first and second control means.
 2. The tool of claim 1 wherein said first means and said first control means includes a first drive means between said control rod means and said first means which produces a bend corresponding in angularity to movement in one mode of said control rod means; and wherein said secOnd means and said second control means includes a second drive means between said control rod means and said second means which produces an advance of said material by said second means corresponding to movement in another mode of said control rod means, whereby the intervals between bends and their angularity is controlled by said single control rod means.
 3. The tool of claim 2 wherein said first means includes a bending head, a pair of bending pins carried by said bending head, and said first drive means includes means causing said bending head to rotate correspondingly in response to movement of said control arm means in said one mode.
 4. The tool of claim 3 further including retraction means normally maintaining said pins below the surface of said bending head and causing one of said pins to protrude above the surface in response to rotation in one direction and the other said pins to protrude above said surface in response to said rotation in the other direction.
 5. The tool of claim 3 wherein said second means includes a pair of drive wheels rotatably mounted and spaced so as to drivingly engage material inserted therebetween, and means guiding said material from said wheels to said bending head, so as to direct said material between said bending pins, and wherein said drive means includes means causing at least one of said wheels to rotate correspondingly in response to movement of said control rod means in said other mode.
 6. The tool of claim 4 wherein said retraction means includes a fixed cam plate juxtaposed to said bending head, and having a surface sloping with respect to said bending head, and also includes actuator pins carried by said bending head and engaging said sloping surface and means connecting said bending pins to a respective actuator pin, whereby rotation of said bending head causes movement of said bending pins in response to the camming action of said actuator pins and said sloping surface.
 7. The forming tool of claims 2, 3 or 5 wherein one of said drive means includes a first rotative drive member fixed to said control rod means and the other of said drive means includes a second rotative drive member and means drivingly connecting said second member to said control rod means so as to produce rotation of said second member in response to rotation of said control rod means about one axis while allowing movement of said control rod means about the axis of the first rotative drive member.
 8. The tool of claims 3 and 5 further including means to selectively disengage the material and said second means whereby responsive advancement of the material by movement of said control rod means may be suspended.
 9. The tool of claims 2, 3, or 5 further including scale means providing an indication of the length of advance of said material by said second means and the angularity of the bend imposed on said material by said first means. 